Friday, November 11, 2016

The universality of human failure and sin

In John’s Gospel (8: 3-11) we
read a passage, whereby Jesus Christ forgives the adulteress woman. There we
read:

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees
brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the
midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught[b] in adultery, in
the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded[c] us that such should be
stoned.[d] But what do You say?”[e] 6 This they said, testing Him, that they
might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote
on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.[f]

7 So when they continued asking
Him, He raised Himself up[g] and said to them, “He who is without sin among
you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote
on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their
conscience,[h] went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.
And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus
had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,[i] “Woman,
where are those accusers of yours?[j] Has no one condemned you?”11 She said,
“No one, Lord.”And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and[k] sin
no more.”

This is a very interesting
passage for many reasons. It is the only incident where we read that Christ
actually wrote something. Interestingly enough no one knows what He wrote.
However, the significance of this story is to be seen in the exegesis given by
Church Fathers and by theologians, who understand that sin is not to be
understood on an individual level, but universally. Christos Yannaras expands
on this, claiming:

‘. . . In every age, the
religious conscience has been unable to accept that Christ should assure this
woman, who has shown Him no external sign of repentance, that He did not
condemn her. He is confronted with the clear commission of a sin, among the
gravest in religious and social ethics – a sin which the Law of Moses punished
with death. Yet He does not pronounce an indictment, but disarms and shames
those who accuse the sinful woman by reminding them of the universality of
human failure and sin. Instead of using conventional standards to measure the
individual’s failure and fall, He points to the need in all men to turn to the
grace of God: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at
her.”’ (Yannaras, Christos, The Freedom
of Morality, p. 61).

About Me

I have studied Theology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Theology, International Relations at the University of London (Queen Mary). My Master's Thesis was published as a book: 'The Aegean Sea Dispute Between Greece and Turkey - The Consequences for NATO and the EU'. For more information see: http://www.akakia.net/el/the-aegean-sea-dispute-between-greece-and-turkey
I have also studied Byzantine Music in Athens and I am currently undertaking a research on the “Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius and its contribution towards Anglican – Orthodox Relations”, at the University of Winchester.
I also represent the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain at the A.E.C.A. If you wish to contact me you can email me: demetrifs1@yahoo.com